Training, expenses and driving licence costs for council staff

For council staff on Green Book terms, required training is paid working time. You are entitled to normal earnings, all the prescribed fees and the relevant expenses. Travel, meals and overnight stays are reimbursed when you necessarily incur them in the course of the job, with evidence. If the council requires you to hold an HGV, passenger service vehicle or other special driving licence, it pays the renewal. The detail of what counts is mostly set by your council.

Required training

Part 2, paragraph 3.2 of the Green Book says employees attending or undertaking required training are entitled to payment of normal earnings, all prescribed fees and other relevant expenses. You are also entitled to paid leave to sit required examinations. The rule is about training the council requires, such as health and safety, safeguarding or a qualification it asks you to gain. The mandatory training guide covers courses public sector employers commonly require.

Part-time employees who attend courses outside their contracted daily hours should be paid on the same basis as full-time employees. Help for other forms of learning, such as development that you choose for yourself, is decided locally, so it varies.

Some training is expensive, and authorities may require repayment of all or part of the costs if you leave before a reasonable time has passed. The Green Book says the authority’s policy on this should be made explicit. If you are asked to sign a repayment agreement before a course, read the period and the amount before you sign.

Councils are also asked to build local workforce development plans, with trade union involvement, to set training priorities. The agreement says the needs of part-time employees and shift workers need particular consideration, and it backs union learning representatives having facilities and paid release. Separately, the statutory right to request time off for training, described on GOV.UK, applies only to employers with at least 250 staff and to employees with 26 weeks’ service, and time off is usually unpaid unless the employer agrees.

Travel, meals and accommodation

Paragraph 13.1 says employees who necessarily incur additional expense on travel, meals or overnight accommodation in the course of work will be reimbursed approved expenses. You must produce evidence of the spending, and the arrangements follow local rules. Those local rules decide the rates and which receipts you need, so read your council’s expenses policy.

Mileage is a separate scheme. A council decides whether a driver is an essential or casual user, and the allowances differ. The essential car user allowance guide explains them. The Green Book says councils should not make it a condition of employment for staff graded below pay point 4 to provide cars for official use. If your employer pays a mileage allowance that is less than HMRC’s approved rate, you may be able to claim tax relief on the difference, as the mileage allowance guide and GOV.UK’s page on vehicles used for work set out.

A compulsory change of workplace

Paragraph 13.2 covers the additional costs arising from a compulsory change in your place of work. These are reimbursed according to locally negotiated schemes, which set out the approved items of expenditure and how long reimbursement lasts. The agreement leaves the content to local negotiation, so if you are told your workplace is moving, ask for the scheme in writing and find out what is covered, such as extra travel costs, and for how long.

Driving licences

Where the council requires you to hold a Heavy Goods Vehicle, Passenger Service Vehicle or other special driving licence, paragraph 13.3 says it shall meet the renewal costs. This applies to jobs such as council HGV driver roles. The paragraph names renewal costs. It does not say who pays for the first licence or training, which you would need to ask your employer about.

What to check

Look up your council’s policies on training and development, expenses, relocation and driving licences. Ask whether training counts as working time if it is outside your normal hours, how soon you must claim expenses, and whether you sign a repayment clause. Keep receipts and copies of any agreement. If a claim is refused, ask for the reason in writing and speak to your union representative. ACAS can advise on raising a grievance if the council’s policy is not being applied.